The Stomp and Cry
by mystic2182
Summary: Set in Season 6 during the episode "Who Are You." Please read and review.


The Stomp and Cry  
  
Set in Season 6 during the episode "Who Are You" when Jackie's mom returns from Mexico. The dialogue surrounded by *** are taken directly from the episode. I just wanted to see how Hyde would comfort Jackie. Please review... I appreciate the feedback.  
  
*** Jackie: Mom, why are you back?  
  
Pam: It got rainy in Cabo so I hopped on a plane.  
  
Fez: I wish I was a plane. Then she could hop on me. And by hop on me, I mean...  
  
Hyde: Yeah I know Fez, we got it.  
  
Jackie: Wait let me guess. Rainy in Cabo is Spanish for my rich pilot boyfriend ran out of money.  
  
Pam: Don't be silly I don't know any Spanish. Except for gracias and mas tequila. I just missed you.  
  
Jackie: Well I didn't miss you. (runs off)  
  
Hyde: And there's the stomp and cry. See you guys tomorrow.  
  
***  
  
It didn't take Hyde long to find Jackie. During their first summer together they had spent a lot of time finding secret places to be together. One of their favorites had been the Fotohut since Leo was barely ever at work, so they were able to be alone. Hyde still had a key and no other business had taken its place, leaving it deserted, the perfect place to be alone. Hyde had never realized how special the Fotohut was for Jackie until her saw her run there after he told her about the nurse. He knew she went there when she needed to think.  
  
As he drove into the parking lot of the Fotohut he saw her, huddled over on the steps. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her knees and she was swaying slightly. She looked up when she heard the engine of the El Camino. She smiled quickly and wiped the stray tears from her cheeks. She silently prayed her makeup was still in order, as Hyde climbed out from behind the wheel.  
  
"Hey!" She smiled, hoping to hide her emotions.  
  
"Hey." He sat down next to her and rested his elbows on his knees. He took off his sunglasses and hung them from the collar of his AC/DC tee.  
  
"So what's up?" Her voice was unusually peppy.  
  
"Jacks, stop." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.  
  
She squeezed back slightly but her tone was still forcefully happy. "What? Steven, I'm fine. Everything's great. Don't worry about me."  
  
Hyde drew in a breath before speaking. "Jacks, you don't have to be brave. It's just us."  
  
"Steven! I don't care that she's back! So what if she left me to go to every drinking hole in Mexico. I won't let her think she has any affect of me. I don't need her. I don't need anyone. She'll just leave me again..." her voice trailed off as she began to cry.  
  
Hyde threw his arm around her neck and brought her closer. He knew she had been trying to be brave for his sake as much as her own. But he knew she had every right to be emotional. He knew firsthand what it felt like to be abandoned by you parents and then have them come back. His only hope was that she never had to deal with the feeling of being left twice.  
  
"Trust me, I know how you feel. And I don't know if your mom is really back to stay but I do know that you will be great with or without her. You may not need her, but she is your mom and you'll want her in your life." Hyde's voice was calm and reassuring.  
  
"I know you understand, you're the only one who ever has. I just don't want to have to deal with her. And now Michael, Eric, and Fez are all falling all over her. I don't want to have to mop up the drool just to talk to her. God, what do I even say?" Her voice trembled and she turned her head into his neck.  
  
"You don't have to say anything. She's the one who needs to make it up to you. She's the one who bailed."  
  
Jackie clung to Hyde, her breathing slowly returning to normal. She turned her body to lay her legs across Hyde's lap, and he pulled her more comfortably onto his lap. Her face was nestled into the base of his neck, her breath slightly tickling him. He rubbed his hand in patterns along her back as she raised her head to look him in the eye.  
  
"Thank you Steven. I don't know how I'd deal with all this without you. It means a lot to me that you followed me here." She gave him a watery smile.  
  
"Hey, you're my girl. Plus I have expertise in this area. Never thought my lack of parents would come in handy." He gave her a smile, trying to make her see she wasn't alone.  
  
"Yeah, who knew we'd end up with so much in common." She grinned at him and brought her lips to his, seeking comfort in his kiss. Hyde felt the emotion behind her kiss and his breath hitched at it all. His first instinct was to deepen the kiss. But now was not the time to get physical, he knew she still had a lot to deal with. Hyde broke the kiss and pushed a dark lock behind her ear before fixing his gaze into her eyes.  
  
"So what do you want to do now? We could stay here, I can take you somewhere..." his voice trailed off as he ran out of suggestions. There wasn't a whole lot to do in Point Place.  
  
"Can we just drive around in the Camino? I don't want to have to deal with anything just yet."  
  
Hyde nodded as Jackie got off his lap and he opened the car door for her. He went to driver's side and started up the car.  
  
"So where to?" He glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road.  
  
"Anywhere but home." She slid along the bench seat to sit right next to him. He linked his hand with hers and they drove the streets of Point Place with no destination in mind. The Eagles' "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" flowed form the speakers while Jackie and Hyde remained completely silent. Every once and awhile Hyde would glance down to make sure she was okay and she would give him a smile to let him know she was.  
  
Finally deciding they go get something to eat after hearing Jackie's stomach growl, Hyde drove to the Hub. They ordered themselves food and sat at an empty table. The Hub was void of the usual commotion and Jackie was relieved that no one from the gang was inside.  
  
"So what are you doing tomorrow?" Jackie said before taking a bite of her hamburger.  
  
"Well I was going with the guys to take Kelso to his new police academy. But I'll just tell them I can't go."  
  
"Why can't you? You should still go. I know you were looking forward to embarrassing Michael." She was puzzled and turned her attention fully to the conversation.  
  
"Yeah I know, but what with your mom back, I figured I should hang around here." He focused intently on his burger.  
  
"Steven..." She turned his head to make him look her in the eye. "That is the sweetest thing you've ever done, giving up a chance to burn Michael to stay here for me." She kissed him happily. "I appreciate it so much, but really, you should go. I'll be okay, Donna will be here. Besides..." she said, straightening herself in her chair, "you can't pass up a perfect chance to humiliate Michael." She grinned at him.  
  
"There are always plenty of opportunities to burn Kelso. It's cool if I miss this one." His voice was low, slightly embarrassed by his sudden act of chivalry.  
  
"No. You're going and that's it. You don't need to baby sit me." Her temper flared with every word.  
  
"You know that's not what I'm trying to do." He kept his voice even; he knew she was still angry at her mom.  
  
She exhaled loudly. "Yeah I know. I didn't mean to snap. I just hate that she's messing with my life yet again. She is so selfish. Who knows where I get my caring nature from?"  
  
Hyde smiled at her attempt to make herself and him feel better. "Yeah it's a mystery." He said sarcastically.  
  
"Oh shut up!" She giggled as she playfully slapped his arm.  
  
He pulled her in for a kiss, completely forgetting the meal. They were too wrapped up in each other to notice they had company.  
  
"Hey! Enough sucking face. People are trying to eat." Jackie and Hyde looked up to see Eric and Donna seated across from them. Fez and Kelso were at the counter ordering. Jackie groaned and went back to eating her hamburger.  
  
"What are you guys doing here?" Hyde barked, after being rudely interrupted.  
  
"Same as you. Getting food. But if we're interrupting we can go to another table." Donna looked at Jackie, knowing she might prefer to be alone with Hyde.  
  
"No, it's cool. Stay. Eat." She flashed Donna a smile and a look that said 'thanks.'  
  
Hyde picked up his burger now that it seemed his mouth wouldn't be otherwise occupied. Fez and Kelso brought over the food and joined the four at the table.  
  
"Jackie, man, I forgot how hot your mom is. Have you talked to her? Has she said anything about me?" Kelso winked suggestively at her.  
  
"I wouldn't know, I haven't talked to her. Not that you would be something I would want to talk to my mom about."  
  
"Yeah Kelso, back off." Donna spoke up in defense of her friend.  
  
"Damn Big D, I was just wondering what she thought of me now that I'm no longer off limits. Sucks for you Hyde." Hyde's arm struck out to frog Kelso in the shoulder.  
  
"Damn Hyde. What was that for?" Hyde didn't respond but instead picked up a fry and ate it.  
  
"Kelso, Pam might be hot, but she is still Jackie's mom. All tan..." Fez began to get dreamy eyed.  
  
"Okay! Can we all stop talking about her? Let's talk about Eric and Donna. So Eric, done anything stupid lately to piss Donna off?" Jackie deflected the attention away from her mom and onto a new topic.  
  
"Ha ha. No. At least, I don't think so." He glanced nervously at Donna.  
  
"Not yet at least, but the night is young." She grinned at Eric and gave him a kiss.  
  
The conversation turned to normal things. Jackie was glad all mention of her mom had stopped for awhile. She was sick of thinking about it. After everyone was done eating they split up and agreed to meet at the basement later for a little time in the circle.  
  
Jackie and Hyde got into the El Camino once again, and this time they drove straight home to the basement. They knew Eric and Donna would be out a little while longer, while Fez and Kelso had said something about candy and girls. Jackie was looking forward to hanging in the basement with everyone without having to think about her mom and all the problems that could come from her return.  
  
Downstairs in the basement, Jackie and Hyde settled into the couch and turned on the TV. Hyde knew Jackie probably didn't want to talk about her mom, and who was he to push. He didn't want to talk about it anymore than she did, so he was comfortable with the silence. His arm was around her shoulders as he slumped further into the couch, her head rested in the crook of his shoulder.  
  
"Thank you." She said quietly, her voice so low he wasn't sure she had even said anything.  
  
"I didn't do anything." Their eyes both still rested on the TV. She placed her hand on his thigh and picked at imaginary lint on his jeans.  
  
"Yeah you did. You actually knew what to say and do this time. And I know that took a lot. And I want you to know that it means a lot. I love you." Her voice was still barely above a whisper, almost afraid to talk this all out loud for fear of ruining this new understanding.  
  
Hyde didn't know how to respond so he simply tilted his head down and kissed her sweetly. He was still the guy who couldn't say 'I love you' all that often, so she accepted his kisses for what they were: a declaration of his love. She smiled against his lips and pulled back to look in his eyes. "You really are a great boyfriend."  
  
"Shut up." He said it with a hint of embarrassment, and she stopped, knowing it made him uncomfortable.  
  
"Okay, sorry." She settled again to watch the TV. They had been watching the latest re-run of "I Dream of Jeanie" and she was comfortable with the silence once again.  
  
"I love you too." Hyde's voice was barely audible.  
  
Jackie squealed in his ear and threw herself into his lap. She happily smothered his face with kisses, and he pretended to be uncomfortable and fight her off. In defense of his face, Hyde grabbed her middle and began tickling her mercilessly. Her laughter bounced off the basement walls, and she was pinned under him on the floor. Suddenly Hyde stopped tickling and instead leaned down and kissed her passionately. She responded just as fervently and soon their positions were reversed with Hyde underneath Jackie, while she sat on his stomach. It had been days since they had had this much alone time without being interrupted by anyone or anything and they were delighted for the time to continue.  
  
Soon their actions were becoming so heated they needed to relocate from the basement floor to his bedroom before anyone else walked in. Jackie sat up briskly and raced to Hyde's bedroom with Hyde following closely behind. She giggled as he slammed the door shut before grabbing her around the waist and throwing her onto his cot. It may not have been the most comfortable bed in the world, but to Jackie there was no place like it. If it meant she would be with Hyde, she would gladly give up all the comfort in the world.  
  
The air in his room was soon punctuated by their passion, as they both greedily sucked in air. Hyde lay on top of Jackie, too spent to think about how he was probably crushing her. He was too happy to break the silence with words, so instead he chose to grin at her before rolling to the side and pulling her close to him. Her smile lit up the room at the closeness of their bodies, and she knew, for now, she was happy. The rest of the world may bring unhappy things, and she knew it would, but for now, in that tiny room, she was happy. And she didn't care who knew it. Tomorrow she may have to deal with her mom's return, but for tonight she was content in the dark dingy basement room with the one person who she knew would always be by her side. 


End file.
